


Out of Time

by LucindaAM



Series: Out of Time [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Before Steve was suped up, But there's also going to be a lot of fluff, F/M, Has time powers she doesn't know about, Keeping time frozen with her powers for 70 years takes its toll on her, Light Swearing, No Smut, Reader and Steve Met in the 40s, Reader is Enhanced, She accidentally freezes herself and others in time, Slow Burn, So theres going to be angst, Soulmate marks, Soulmates, Steve finds her again 70 years in the future, Steve still goes into the ice, don't let the title fool you, they fell in love, this will have a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23193034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucindaAM/pseuds/LucindaAM
Summary: Seventy years ago, Steve met the woman who shared the same soulmark he did. The two had a whirlwind romance but it was not to last. Steve Rogers, Brooklyn nobody is chosen to become Captain America, the guiding hope for a world at war. All of that ended though, when Steve took the Tesseract into the ice. A hero lost to time, and a love lost to death.Only that's not what happened.Fast-forward seventy years, and Steve's woken up by SHIELD. The war might have been won, but a new war has already started and the world needs its guiding hope back.(See tags for more information)
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Reader
Series: Out of Time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689721
Comments: 23
Kudos: 150





	1. Finding New Hope

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a soulmate story for AGES and I don't know why I picked Steve for it, but I can't say that I regret it now. His brooding persona is just too perfect for the role.
> 
> This is a story that's been in my head for awhile now. It will feel good to get it out there.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Steve sat in the empty white room staring at the mark on his left wrist. The mark of his soulmate. She was never far from his mind. Seventy years ago, he’d had to put the plane in the water. He didn’t regret it. Not really. It had been the only clear-cut option at the time. Still, as the water started closing in on him, his last conscious thoughts had been for the person he was leaving behind. The person who shared the same mark. 

Not everyone had one. They were rare. A connection “blessed by the gods” it was said. The few who did have them spent their lives searching for that other person. The one that would be their literal other half. The person who would fill that missing hole in their hearts, the one that had always been there even if at times, you could pretend it wasn’t. 

Steve knew he’d saved countless lives by burying the Tesseract where it couldn’t hurt anyone else. Not that it mattered now seeing as how SHIELD had long ago dug it, and him, back up. The one thing he regretted about all of it was that he’d left you out there. Alone. Abandoned. 

He used to wear the mark as a symbol of hope. One day, he’d find someone who didn’t care about his skinny physique and sickly nature. You hadn’t. In fact, you hadn’t cared either way. You loved him for him. Not for the muscle he had been given. 

Now, though, he wore it as a badge of shame. He’d hurt you. Whether you’d felt his “death” through the mark or not; he’d hurt you. He knew what you must have felt when they’d given you the news of his death. Thank Heavens you hadn’t been on the radio when he’d given Peggy his dying wish. “Tell her I love her.” 

Now, seventy years in the future, he was still fighting the same war. The playing field had changed. The tactics had altered. The technology had advanced. But he no longer had his girl to come back home to. He no longer had anything personal to fight for. He’d tried looking you up, one day. He’d put it off for a long time because he’d been almost afraid of what he would find. He’d been right to be slightly terrified. The last chronological information he could find on you indicated that the army had pulled you in to personally notify you of his death. Some kind of explosion had been triggered in the building and nothing else was noted. There was nothing on any search and rescue efforts. No indication of where the building had even been located. Everything had been redacted except that damning line. “Subject entered building. [Redacted]. Explosion heard. [Redacted]. No survivors.” 

The rest of the team entered the briefing room and he sighed as he rubbed his mark one last time. He ignored the pointed look Nat gave him. Of the members of the team, only she had ferreted out Steve’s greatest secret. She’d been trying to help him get over his loss by setting him up with countless other women but Steve wasn’t ready. It wasn’t everyday you met the other half of your soul. Nothing else could compare. 

“Alright, team. Listen up.” Natasha walked to the front of the room and tapped away at her tablet. “Fury couldn’t be here. He asked me to pass the information along.” 

“What are we looking at?” Steve asked. 

“We’ve got word of an awful lot of HYDRA activity focused around here.” Nat pulled up a schematic and zoomed in on the map. 

“Is that Brampton?” Steve asked with interest. 

“Yeah. You know the place?” Nat asked curiously as the rest of the team turned to look at Steve with interest. It had been awhile since anyone had seen the gleam in his eyes. 

“Uh . . . yeah. I was there. You know . . . before.” 

Nat waited a moment longer before she realized that Steve wasn’t going to be giving any more information. “Right. Well, from what we’ve been able to gather, there’s an extremely old military installation there. We think HYDRA is setting up a new base. Fury wants us to act quickly before they can sprout too many roots. Cap?” 

Steve stood up and headed to the front of the room. “Right. There are plenty of rolling hills and places to hide. It’s England after all. We will land a few miles out and then hike in on foot. It should be a simple smash and bash.” 

Everyone nodded their agreement. 

“Great. Suit up. We leave in ten.” 

Everyone filed out of the room. When he was sure they’d gone, he turned back to the screens and started flipping through the photo surveillance. There was something about it . . . 

He was so focused on what he was doing, he didn’t hear Nat come back into the room. 

“What’s got you all up in a twist?” She asked. 

Steve froze and then shook his head. “Something’s nagging me . . . it feels like not putting the pieces of something together.” 

Nat came up beside him and looked over the photo’s he was viewing. “Think it could impede the mission?” 

Steve shook his head. “No. Its . . .” Suddenly, the metaphorical lightbulb went off above his head. Nat saw the recognition settle in his eyes. 

“Wanna clue me in here?” 

Steve quickly flipped to one of the first grainy surveillance photo’s he’d seen. “This place, it was a reserves base during my time, right? During my war?” 

Steve glanced over the photo. Sure enough, the part of the building he could see was partially destroyed. By the way collapsed half looked and the debris scattered, he’d bet it had been a bomb. From the inside. 

“It was. Records indicate there was an explosion of some kind. The whole place was shut down. It was at the height of the war and other things were taking precedence so it was abandoned before repairs could be made. What’s all this about Steve?” 

Steve shook his head and moved out of the room to suit up. There was an indescribable feeling building up in his chest. Walking up and realizing that he was never going to see you again had been agony, but it was worse not knowing what had happened to you. If his hunch was right, the Brampton reserves base was were you had spent your final moments. He could finally put you to rest. 

Nat followed behind him, doggedly. “Come on Rogers. You know I’m going to ask until you tell me. Or until I figure it out myself.” 

Steve sighed and froze in the hallway, head bent. “It’s . . . personal Nat. I promise it doesn’t affect the mission. I just . . . give me today and then I’ll tell you everything. Okay?” 

Nat stared at him, trying to read between the lines. Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle put themselves together in her mind. Of course SHIELD had access to the final report of Steve’s life. Including what happened to his soulmate. Clearly, Steve thought Brampton was where she had been last. “Alright, Steve. Meet you on the jet.” 

A look of relief crossed Steve’s face when she didn’t press any harder. He nodded and took off down the hall again. Nat sighed and stared after her friend. She placed a hand against the mark on her own wrist, through the high-tech polymers of her own suit. She knew the pain that Steve must be going through and she realized what he was after. The least she could do was give him closure. Not everyone in this life got it.


	2. I Got a Bad Feeling About This...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to add an extra chapter today because I'm a character like that. ;) But also because this is gonna be a pretty slow burn for the next few days. Reader doesn't have a single line till like Chapter Four. So enjoy the bonus content!

The team slowly made their way through the surrounding woods as they approached the base. Steve ignored Tony’s whiny quips about all the walking. The billionaire had made it quite clear that he would have preferred to fly in, guns a blazing. Steve wasn’t taking any chances. The personal connection to his own life aside, something about this mission didn’t feel quite right. The feeling only grew the closer to the base that they got. Everything looked too . . . similar. 

Ever since he’d woken up out of the ice, Steve had struggled to adjust to the small changes. For him the widespread use of technology had been surprising but expected. It was only natural that the world would have progressed in his absence. No, it wasn’t the new and amazing that rubbed him the wrong way. It was the small diner on fifth that was almost exactly like he remembered except they’d painted the walls and they’d changed the booths and the music was different. It was the way the trees in Central Park were so much bigger. It was even the taste of something as simple as a PB&J sandwich. They were like itches he couldn’t scratch. The same, but different. 

He didn’t have the same problem here. The forest, from what he could remember, hadn’t seemed to have grown at all. The river no bigger than it had been in his time. In fact the only notable change was the sounds of people moving heavy equipment and speaking in thick accents. 

Something was . . . off. 

Before he could mention anything to the team, Barton cut in on the comms. 

“Think you’ve been spotted!” He called from his nest up in the trees. 

The sounds of gunfire could be heard moments later. 

“Go, go, go!” Steve shouted, weaving through the trees. He deflected a few rounds before tossing his shield, nailing one of the HYDRA assailants in the face. Steve ducked and rolled before holding his hand up, his shield sailing neatly back onto his wrist. 

Next to him, Thor was flinging his hammer across the expanse, decimating an entire line of men. Nat sprinted forward, grabbing a tree branch and launching herself into the air before she came down on the head of one of the men. She wasted no time in wrapping her legs around him and slamming him into the ground. His automatic rifle was in her hands before he hit the pavement. 

“Finally!” Tony smirked and rapidly released a few dozen blasts from his suit, each one nailing it’s target dead center. 

After mere minutes, the sounds of fighting died down and the Avengers took in the battleground. “Cap?” Nat asked. 

“I see it.” Steve nodded. 

“See what?” Barton asked. 

“There’s only, what? A few dozen guys here? Where are the rest? Intelligence said that this was about to become a hotbed of bad guy activity.” Stark noted, spinning in a circle. 

“I don’t like it.” Steve said, shaking his head and adjusting his grip on his shield. Something else is going on here. Keep a sharp eye. Nat, Sam? You’re with me. The rest of you, fan out, check the perimeter. See if you can’t ferret out a few more.” 

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Stark sassed before lifting off. 

Falcon landed heavily next to Steve as Natasha came up to his other side. Together, the three of them stepped towards the building. 

The outside, just as it had been in the pictures, was completely destroyed. Rubble lined the walkway up to the front doors. Half of the building looked like it was in the middle of caving in on itself. “Something bad happened here.” Sam whistled. 

The bad feeling Steve had in the forest amplified as they stepped through the broken doors. Inside looked like a bomb had gone off. Papers and debris were still scattered everywhere but besides that, it looked like he had stepped back in time. The same wartime propaganda covered the bulletin boards. The same old technology he was used to lay scattered against the floor and the desks. 

Slowly, the three of them made their way through the eerie hallways. The roof above them creaked ominously. 

“That thing is defying the laws of physics.” Sam whispered. It was a startling contrast to the silence that otherwise echoed around them. 

Steve and Nat glanced up and couldn’t help but agree with him. It was halfway sinking already. What the hell was keeping it up? 

As they got closer to what must have been the epicenter of the explosion, Steve’s heart began racing. He flexed his fingers nervously. 

“Steve?” Nat asked, concerned, catching the movement out of the corner of her eye. 

“Somethings not right . . .” He murmured back. 

“You feel it too?” She asked. 

Steve nodded and once again adjusted his grip on the shield. Nat gripped her weapon tightly in her hand, pulling it from her holster but keeping it lowered to the ground. Sam typed a few keys on his gauntlet and squared his shoulders as the three of them approached a set of doors. 

The doors were the only thing in the entire place that looked new. Steve placed a hand against them. “They didn’t have these in my time.” He said. 

Nat picked up his gist immediately. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to get the reinforced doors in here. Nothing else had been disturbed since the war. So, what was so important it was worth hiding behind them? 

“Stand back.” She ordered, reaching into her belt and pulling out some of Stark’s patented C4. She wasted no time in securing the explosive to the doors. 

She moved off to the side, Sam and Steve right on her heels. Just before she pushed the button to trigger the device, Steve reached out a hand. 

“Wait.” 

Nat glanced at him. 

“We sure we want to prod this bear?” He asked. 

Nat glanced at Sam over Steve’s shoulder before glancing back at the Cap. “Call it a hunch, Cap. Somethings in there. Something big. We need to figure it out because I’m positive that whatever it is, we don’t want HYDRA to get their hands on it.” 

Steve looked into Nat’s eyes for a moment before he nodded and released her arm. 

“Fire in the hole.” She whispered, pressing the button. 

The explosion rocked through the empty corridor, blasting a hole through the doors. They’d been built to stand up to worse than that, but this was Tony’s tech we were talking about. 

Slowly Steve rose to his feet and moved towards the burning hole in the center of the doors. He coughed as the smoke invaded his senses, and he waved a hand in front of his face, trying to clear the air. 

He stepped through the hole in the doors and immediately stepped into another time. 

“Doll?” He asked in disbelief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking about Steve's mental health a lot while I was writing this chapter. Now I'm no shrink, but I tried putting myself in his shoes and I felt like the things that would be hardest for me to cope with would be the things that were so close to being the same, but in the end just missed the mark. In my head, that's why he freaks out so bad when he wakes up in the 40's style room SHIELD worked so hard to put together for him, but kinda "calms down" a little bit (well, as much as can be expected) when he bursts out onto the streets and takes in Times Square in all its modern glory. So I added it.
> 
> I was also going for a very eerie almost horror-movie feel to this chapter. Could you tell?


	3. So Many Ways to be Frozen

Steve glanced around the room. A room literally frozen in time. In the center of the room, a man, partially engulfed in a fireball stood in front of a woman who was facing Steve. Her eyes were opened wide, a silent shout falling from frozen lips. Her arms were in the air, her fingers flexed. Around the room, a handful of army recruiters and an officers stood facing the commotion. “What the hell?” Sam’s voice echoed from behind Steve, snapping him to the present. 

“Steve . . . Is that?” Nat prompted. 

“Yeah.” He whispered; feet frozen in place. Was this some kind of HYDRA trick? 

“What the hell?!” Sam repeated, louder. 

Steve snapped out of his haze and moved around the room, looking at it from every angle. Your eyes remained firmly fixed on the exploding man in front of you. Clearly, he’d been meaning to kill you all. What had stopped it? 

Steve reached out a tentative hand to brush your check. 

“Wait.” This time, Nat grabbed his arm, holding him back. “I think . . . Steve . . . what if she’s the one causing it? What if she’s the one who’s . . . frozen time?” 

Steve glanced around before returning his eyes back to your face. For the first time, he noticed the lines of strain around your eyes and the concentration building on your face. 

“We still need to get her out of there, Nat. I’m not going to lose her again. I can’t believe she’s here . . . after all this time . . .” 

Nat nodded and pulled her hand away when it became clear that Steve wasn’t going to touch you. Yet. “I know Rogers. We’ll get her. But what if she is the one doing this? We can’t do anything that risks unfreezing her until we can protect everyone. That blast doesn’t look like it’s going to be small.” She gestured her head towards the building explosion. 

Steve took another step back, just now noticing just how close you were to the potential threat. “Right.” He said, taking another step back and grabbing Sam’s arm before the other man could poke at one of the frozen officers. “Right.” He repeated. 

The three of them took one last look around the room and then quickly left the room. The second they were outside, Steve put his Captain America face back on. “Stark. You find anything?” 

“Silent as the grave, Cap.” 

“Great. I need you and Banner here now. I have something I need you to take a look at. The rest of you, secure the prisoners.” 

Nat turned to Steve. “I’m going to get Director Fury on the line. He can send a team to help us brace the building for impact. 

Steve grabbed her arm. “I don’t think . . .” 

Nat noticed the stress in his expression. She placed a hand against his chest. “I don’t think that room is the only thing frozen in time. The second we unfreeze it, the roof is going to cave unless we get some support beams in there. I know you and Fury have your issues, but trust me on this, Steve, he’s going to help.” 

Steve sighed. “Yeah. It’s his ‘help’ I’m worried about. Fury doesn’t do anything for nothing, Nat.” 

Nat smiled softly. “He won’t take her away from you, Cap. I promise you that.” 

Steve sighed and let her go, gesturing with his chin to go make the call. He watched her walk towards the jet, and Stark landed beside him. “Banner’s dealing with a Code Green. He'll be here when he can. In the meantime, whatcha got?” 

Steve waved an arm through the air. “Follow me.” 

Tony let out a low whistle. “This . . . this I was not expecting.” 

Tony slid out of his armor and walked around the room. He bent down and peered into the faces of everyone in the room, including yours. 

“JARVIS, you taking readings?” 

“There are no heat signatures, nor vital signs present, sir. Without eyes on the situation I would say there wasn’t anyone here at all.” 

“But they’re real?” 

“Further scans indicate that yes, they are all organic human lifeforms trapped in . . . time . . . if I had to wager a guess.” 

“You think you can get them out?” Steve asked, eyes riveted to your still form. You were just like he remembered. You had the same hairdo. The same old-soul stared back at him out of unblinking eyes. Hell, you were even wearing the same dress he’d bought you for the first dance you’d gone to together. 

Tony glanced around the room. “Nothing’s impossible. I need some equipment from the quinjet. I’ll be right back.” Stark climbed into his suit and flew away, leaving Steve alone with you. 

“Hiya, doll.” He whispered. “I think you and I need to have a serious talk when you get out of there. Nat thinks that you might be doing all of this. I have to say, if it’s true then that’s quite the secret you’ve been hiding.” Steve chuckled sadly. “Then again, if it saved you . . .” 

Steve’s focus turned to the explosion frozen in time, just like the rest of you. “I searched for you, you know. After I got out. Only thing I found was that there was some kind of explosion that triggered in the building where they’d taken you after I died. ‘No survivors’ it said.” Steve glanced back up at your face. “How’d an entire country forget about something like this?” That was the thing that didn’t make sense. How could they just abandon an entire building and forget about the souls locked inside? He didn’t recognize any of the others in the room, but surely they had families and loved ones too. 

For a moment, Steve felt a deep sense of empathy for the people in the room. He was going to get them out, but once he did . . . well, he’d been on the receiving end of being a man out of time. He didn’t envy any of them. At least you would have him. He’d take care of you. He would keep you safe. He would never let anything separate the two of you again. This was one miracle he would take without question. 

Tony flew back into the room, a large case in his hands. He set it on the ground and slid the helmet off his head before stepping out of the suit. Steve backed away from your frozen frame. He hadn’t realized he’d gotten so close. The urge to take you in his arms was nearly overwhelming. 

Stark noticed Steve’s fixation on the girl in the center of the room, but he said nothing as he puttered around the room, setting up his computers. 

Nat slunk into the room next. “Fury’s sending a team. They’ll be here within the hour.” 

Banner tip-toed into the room behind her, doing his best to be invisible after his Hulk episode earlier. Nat had filled him in so he didn’t look around him with too much awe. He merely moved towards Tony and the two scientists began debating something under their breaths. 

Steve nodded at Nat, worry still in his eye. 

“Don’t worry, Steve. Everything’s going to be okay. Promise.” 

Steve tried to believe it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My poor baby! Nat's a good friend though . . . with killer instincts. You better believe that if Fury tries anything funny with Cap's soulmate, Nat's gonna go to bat for them.


	4. Time Unfreeze

It took hours before anyone had any good news to tell Steve. The SHIELD team had come and had quickly begun propping up the crumbling building. Multiple SHIELD agents were swarming the place, taking various readings and speaking in jargon that Steve couldn’t follow. Another team had come and taken the HYDRA prisoners away. Fury had wanted to see what they knew about what was inside and how they knew it. 

It was a question on Steve’s mind as well. 

Still, he kept his mind focused on other things. He stood guard in one of the dark corners of the office room, eyes trained on your ever-unchanging face. Every time someone got to close to you, a snarl would slip from his lips. It had been too long since he’d been able to hold you in his arms and now he was so close and yet so far away. 

One of the first things Tony and Banner had confirmed as that it would be a bad idea to touch any of the frozen beings. They’d been in stasis too long. There was a pile of dust in the corner than everyone did their best to avoid. Stark was pretty sure it had been one of the frozen souls. He theorized that someone, maybe HYDRA, had touched the poor soul and the forced introduction to the current timeline had killed them. Steve wasn’t willing to take that chance with you. 

The second thing that Tony and Banner had managed to confirm was that you were the one causing everything. A great deal of energy was emanating from you. It stretched far beyond the building, tapering off into the woods surrounding the forgotten base. That’s why everything hadn’t changed. The trees were just as frozen in time as the rest of you. 

“I think we got it!” Stark finally called from across the room. Steve straightened from his position and for the first time in hours, moved out of his shadowy corner. 

Stark was gesturing proudly at his computer. “I think we can pull your soulmate out, Cap.” He said. 

Steve started. “I never . . .” 

Tony waved a hand dismissively in the air. “Please. You didn’t have to say anything. It's written all over your face. We’re not here to talk about that, though. Look here.” Tony pointed at something on the screen. Steve peered at it with confusion on his face. Tony sighed. “This point here? It’s your soulmate. She’s emanating power. It seems to be coming up from inside of her. Right?” 

Steve nodded. 

“Right. Now, we can’t just . . . vacuum out whatever battery she’s running on. Who knows what that would do to her. But! That’s not the only source of power she’s drawing from.” 

“What else would she . . .” 

“He means the bomb.” Banner explained. “She’s siphoning off the residual energy from the bomb. Given enough time, she could probably siphon off all of it, leaving it harmless. But we probably don’t want to wait that long.” 

Steve nodded. “Agreed.” 

Stark pointed at his screen again. “So, all we need to do is cut off her power supply. We’ve got to get rid of the bomb.” 

“And how are we going to do that?” 

Banner and Stark glanced at each other before they looked back at Steve. Stark rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ve got to bring it to the present time line and let it do what it was supposed to do seventy years ago.” 

Steve’s heart was racing. “No! Absolutely not! You want to kill a guy?” 

“Steve . . .” Banner was hesitant. “Look at him.” 

Steve turned to face the man who was mid-explosion. 

“Even if we find another way, and that’s a big ‘if’ . . . he’s still not going to survive. She froze him too late. He’s already done for.” Stark finished. 

Steve sighed and glanced around the room, his eyes settling on yours once again. 

They were right. As much as it pained him to do it, they were right. His shoulders were slumped as he turned back to them. “Even if you let the bomb finish exploding, we can’t get any of these people out of here without killing them anyway. How are you going to contain the explosion?” 

“I thought you’d never ask.” Stark smiled. 

Stark walked back into the room, a huge suit covering him. “It’s my bomb disposal suit.” He defended when he caught Nat’s slightly amused expression. 

“And why do you need one?” 

“Shut up.” He murmured. “Okay. Here’s the plan. This suit can create an energy shield around the explosion and can siphon the energy just like Cap’s soulmate is doing right now. It’s . . . in the early stages so don’t expect anything fancy.” 

“It’s never been tested?!” Steve demanded angrily. 

“Calm down, Capsicle. My math is never wrong. Just . . . everyone not frozen in time or wearing a protective suit . . . leave now.” 

Slowly, the SHIELD agents filed out of the room leaving only the Avengers. Stark waited until they were all gone before he continued. 

“Okay, Cap. Here’s the plan. On three, touch the guy. That should set off a reaction, bringing the explosion to us. Try not to get incinerated. The rest of you should probably wait outside as well.” 

Steve nodded and pulled his shield from his back. The rest of the Avengers glanced around before slowly filing out of the room. Nat sent Steve a reassuring glance before she followed them out. 

“You sure about this?” Steve asked Stark one more time. His heart was pounding in his chest. If Stark was right . . . he was minutes away from reuniting with you. 

“Of course I’m sure, Rogers. I’m Tony Stark. Now, get in position.” 

Steve moved closer to the exploding man and readied his shield in front of him. 

“Great. On three then.” Stark reminded him. “One . . . two . . . three!” 

Without hesitation, Steve reached out and touched a finger to the man’s exposed arm. Instantly, all hell broke loose. 

Steve retracted his hand behind his shield just as the force of the explosion hit him. He was slammed against the back wall. He hit it with a groan, leaving a sizeable dent in the wall. He shook his head once, to clear it and jumped to his feet, shield held up at eye level, ready to block another explosion if he needed to. 

In the center of the room, you were completely obscured by the massive fireball trapped in an energy bubble of some kind. Grunts could be heard over the comms as Stark placed his metal hands against the edges of the bubble and pressed inwards. “Come on! Come on!” He muttered. 

“Power at 200% and climbing.” JARVIS’ voice rang out. 

“Almost there!” Stark cried, condensing the fireball even more. Steve took a cautious step forward. 

“Power at 400% and climbing. Sir, the suit can’t take much more of this.” 

“Vent to secondary relays!” Stark bit out. Electricity hummed through the air, down the wires Stark had attached to the back of his suit and out the doors. He collapsed the bubble even more. It was the size of a small fishbowl now. 

Steve took another step, his eyes trained on you as Stark squashed the fireball even smaller. Was it just his imagination? Or had you started to blink? 

“Got it!” Stark called out, slamming his hands together. The sound of electricity crackling faded as Stark’s suit sucked up the last of the blast energy. Tony grunted and fell to the ground. 

“Suit needs work, JARVIS.” He panted. Steve barely spared him a glance as the room slowly came to life around him. 

He slid to a stop in front of you as your eyes closed the rest of the way and opened again. He watched in horror as though a faucet was opened and blood began streaming from your nose. A streak of white painted the hair framing your face. Your hands fell loosely to your sides and you swayed a little as you glanced at him. 

“Stevie?” You asked wearily. Then your eyes closed and you slumped forward. He swept you up in his arms before you could hit the ground. 

“Banner! I need you!” He called, racing out of the room. 

The rest of the Avengers and the SHIELD agents rushed into the room at the panicked sound of Steve’s voice. Banner took one look at the bloodied woman in Steve’s arms and raced away with Steve towards the quinjet. Everyone else slowly filed into the room and began checking over the rest of the misplaced souls. 

“Hi. I’m Nat.” Nat said, squatting down by a man who had slid to the floor as he took everything in. “You’re okay. You’re safe now.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched. 

“Where am I?” He asked, shakily. 

Nat winced. “You’re in Brampton, England . . . in 2017.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Alert, Alert* Got a loooooot of made up science in this chapter. Kinda feels plausible, though, don't you think?
> 
> As for reader's hair whitening, thing Rouge in the first X-Men movie featuring Hugh Jackman. 
> 
> Finally, can you imagine being one of those poor office workers? "Hi, you've been frozen in time for seventy years. It's now 2090. Hope you have a great day!"


	5. Time Marches On

It had been almost a month since Stark had unfrozen you. Almost a month since Steve had heard his name on your lips, only for you to pass out. He frowned at your prone body, still connected to dozens of machines, half of which he didn’t understand. Beside him, the heart monitor flatlined again. The monitor attached to that flashed red, pausing all the life-saving machines as you slipped into another time freeze. Steve sighed. The flatlining hardly phased him anymore. 

Ever since they'd gotten you back to the compound, your heartrate monitor would regularly flatline. They said that you kept slipping into a frozen stasis. They thought it was maybe your body trying to protect itself. Last time it had been frozen in time, you had reacted instinctively and saved lives. Or at least, that’s what all the survivors had said. Everyone had a different take on the suicide bomber that had breached the office. Nobody knew who he was or what he had wanted and though Clint and Nat had tried to look into it further, too much time had passed to really dissect his actions. Only one person could perhaps shed light on the subject, and she was lying in some kind of coma, dead to the world. The rest of them were positive about one thing though. Whatever you had done, you’d saved them all. 

Nat walked in, distracting Steve from his thoughts. She leaned against the doorway. “How is she?” She asked. 

Steve sighed and ran a weary hand down his face. “The same.” 

Nat nodded slowly, eyes fixed on you. “Thought you’d want an update on the Lost Boys.” 

Stark had jokingly knick-named the men that had been found trapped in time as the ‘Lost Boys’. He thought it was poetic. The Lost Boys in Peter Pan had been trapped in time too. Of course, that meant that he’d lovingly taken to calling you Wendy Darling and on rare occasions, Tinkerbell. 

“How are they holding up?” Steve asked. 

Nat shrugged. “As well as you did, I suppose. The military personnel have taken it the best. I suppose that’s because they’re better at compartmentalizing. A few of them have requested to join SHIELD. Fury’s considering it. The office drones are struggling more. We’ve been introducing them to modern technology but . . . more than one of them had a full breakdown when we showed them how a cellphone worked.” 

Steve nodded. “Makes sense. When I came out of the ice, the only thing that made sense to me was SHIELD. The military might have newer gadgets nowadays but the basic principles are the same. As for the office lackies . . . give them time. It’s a little overwhelming.” 

Nat nodded again. “Any advice for the boys upstairs?” 

Steve shook his head, his eyes never leaving your form. “The best thing for them is human interaction. Don’t let them isolate themselves. They’ll be tempted, but don’t let them. I learned a lot just by observing.” 

“I’ll be sure to pass it along.” Nat fell silent. Suddenly the heartrate monitor kicked back in and the machines around you whirled back into action. The breathing apparatus began pumping air slowly in and out of your lungs again now that you were back in the present. 

“I don’t know how much more of this I can take, Nat. It’s killing me.” Steve whispered brokenly, reaching out to take one of your hands. 

Nat saddled further into the room and put a comforting hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Come on, Rogers. Your gal? She’s a fighter. Don’t give up on her too soon.” 

Steve smiled sadly, and watched the machines keeping you alive. He leaned down and kissed your hand. 

“She is.” 

Another month passed and there were few changes. The only good news was that the random time freezes had slowed and then stopped altogether. Banner and Cho seemed to think it was a good sign. They hypothesized that your body had gone into a kind of shock after the strain of keeping so much frozen for such a long period of time. That your powers had stopped activating on their own . . . well . . . that could only mean that you were normalizing. 

Steve prayed harder than he ever had in his life that you would come back to him. Every morning, the first thing he did was stop by your room in the med bay to see if anything had changed. Every night, he returned to kiss your forehead goodnight before he dragged himself to his room. He had been lonely before, after he came out of the ice. But it was agony now when he had to sleep alone, knowing that you were just a few floors down. 

Tonight was no different. 

It was late when he finally got home from his latest mission. His suit was torn and his face was covered in dust and blood, most of it someone elses. All he wanted was to shower and fall into bed, but first, he had to check on you. 

He stumbled into your room and threw himself in the chair by your bed. “Hi, doll.” He began, smiling sadly at your unconscious body. “Sorry it’s been so long. I got called away on a mission.” He leaned over and brushed a lock of hair away from your face. “It was supposed to be in and out. We’ve been trying to figure out how much HYDRA knew or maybe knows about you. We went in to get some files but we ran into a little bit of trouble.” 

Steve sighed and pulled his gloves off. He rolled the sleeve of his uniform up and started tracing the lines of his soulmark. It was the one thing that grounded him these days. 

“I don’t like how they knew where you were. And there was that poor soul turned pile of dust that someone had to have touched . . .” 

The Lost Boys had confirmed that they were one body short when they’d come out in 2017. “Someone really died, turned to dust like it was nothing.” Steve paused. “I’m really glad it wasn’t you, doll.” 

Steve’s eyes glazed over and his mind wandered. He remembered some of the good ol’ days before the serum had made him into a weapon. The way that you had looked at him then as though he’d hung the stars themselves. Your look hadn’t changed when he had. He’d loved that about you. Your feelings had never been fickle. Leaving you to join the war had been one of the hardest things that he had ever done. But how could he justify staying with you when so many other souls were off dying just to keep their loved ones safe? 

He still remembered the teary way that you’d said goodbye. How you had made him promise that he'd come back safely. 

He also remembered the shock he had felt when you had turned up in the middle of a battlefield two weeks after he’d gotten there in a nurses uniform, tending to the wounded and dying. Boy had he given you an earful then. You’d given as good as you’d got though. It wasn’t your place, you argued, to stay home when you could do something to help. You’d practically thrown his own words into his face, and he hadn’t been able to fight it. In a way, he’d even been grateful. With you close by, he could protect you himself. 

Steve’s eyes strayed to your form again. Not that he had protected you, though. He’d gone into the ice and before the war had ended, someone had been there trying to blow you up. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on. It was the same question he’d been struggling with for months now. Why? Why, why why? None of this made any sense! 

He stood up, frustratedly and began pacing. “I’m going to figure this out, doll.” He promised. “Whatever happened seventy years ago, and whatever’s happening now. I’m not going to let this happen again.” 

He waited, as he always did, for some kind of response. When there was none, he sighed and moved towards the door. “I love you.” He whispered before he left the room and headed towards his own. 

Two more months passed and Steve was in the middle of bashing a HYDRA agents face in. “Rogers.” Nat's voice called through the comms. 

“Kind of busy.” Steve grunt, dropping to the ground as an agent shot at him. He rolled onto his back and flung the shield, catching it again as he jumped to his feet. 

“It’s Darling.” Stark’s knick-name had stuck and now it was the codename the whole team used in an effort to keep your identity secret. 

Steve’s heart froze in his chest and he prepared himself for the worst. 

“She’s awake.”


	6. Reunions

Steve could hear laughter coming from the medbay as he raced down the hall to your room. He skid to a stop outside the door he was more familiar with than he had ever wanted to be and glanced at his reflection in the window next to it. Self-consciously, he adjusted his shirt and his hair. It had been a few days since he’d gotten wind that you’d finally woken up. A few days that he was stuck across the world, taking down bad guys while you were stuck here, dealing with everything on your own. What would you think? Would you still want him? Would you even remember him? 

Steve took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door open. 

Nat was sitting in the chair next to the bed. In her hands she had a stack of photos that she was showing to you. “This one is from the time that Steve learned how to work an automated washing machine. Did men in your day wear pink?” 

You laughed and the sound warmed Steve’s heart. You shook your head. “They wouldn’t have been caught dead.” 

The sound of your voice calmed Steve more than anything else this world had offered him since he came out of the ice. He was home. 

“Hey, now.” He said, warming further as your eyes flicked to him in surprise. “I think I pulled it off.” 

Nat smiled and leaned back in her chair, content to watch as the two soulmates reunited. 

“Stevie.” You whispered, tears forming in your eyes. One hand reached up to cover your mouth and the other arm reached out beckoning him closer. He was by your side in seconds. 

“Hey now, hey. Don’t cry.” He whispered, reaching up and brushing the tears from your eyes. “You’re here. You’re safe now. You’re okay.” 

You shook your head and pressed your forehead against his. “They said you died.” You hiccuped. “They came to my door and said . . . they said . . .” 

“I’m fine though. See?” He pulled back and looked into your eyes before leaning down and pressing a light kiss to your lips. “I’m real.” He kissed you again. “I’m never leaving you again.” He kissed you deeper. 

A polite cough broke the two of you up and you both glanced over at Nat who had a wide smirk on her face. “I’m going to go.” She said, gesturing towards the door. “You two have a lot to catch up on.” She reached down and handed you the stack of photos. “These are for you though. If ‘Stevie’ here ever gets to be too much to handle . . . well . . . now you have dirt on him.” 

You smiled up at her and thanked her quietly as Steve moved to take her abandoned seat. 

Steve smiled down at you and brought your hand up to kiss it. “I missed you so much.” He whispered. 

You smiled. “I missed you too.” You reached out and covered his hand with yours. “Steve . . . when they told me you were dead . . .” Tears welled up in your eyes. 

“Shhhhhh.” He cooed, nudging you over so he could climb into the small hospital bed with you. He tucked your head against his chest and wrapped his arms around you. You closed your eyes and relaxed, listening to the familiar sound of his heart beating away. 

“I never meant to hurt you, doll. You’ve got to know that.” 

“I do.” You whispered. 

He bent down and kissed the top of your head and the two of you simply enjoyed being together again. 

“Doll . . . I gotta ask . . .” Steve broke the silence. You sighed. “Did you know . . .?” 

You shook your head. “I didn’t know I could do that, Stevie. Honest. I still don’t understand what happened . . . Everyone is saying that it was me. That I did it; but how is that possible?” 

Steve shook his head slowly. “I don’t know doll, but since coming out of the ice I’ve seen a lot of crazy things. Anything’s possible these days. We’ll figure it out. And I’ll be there every step of the way.” 

You nodded and clung to him a little tighter. “Do you have to leave again?” You asked. 

Steve shook his head. “I told Fury I wasn’t leaving again for a little while. I gotta get my best girl settled before I go anywhere.” He leaned down to kiss your head again. 

You glanced up and smiled at him. “Good.” You stretched up and pecked his lips. “Hows about you take me out and we paint the town red?” You grinned. 

Steve smiled down at you and chuckled. “Just you wait, doll. I’ve got everything all planned. Just need to get the go ahead from Dr’s Banner and Cho.” 

As if they’d been summoned, there was a light knock on the door and the two doctors walked into the room, Tony Stark trailing in after them. 

“Morning, Wendy.” Stark sassed, smiling down at you with casual affection before either of the doctors in the room could say anything. 

You chuckled. “You know that’s not my name, Mr. Stark.” 

Tony looked offended. “And that’s not mine! Come on, say it with me; ‘Tony’.” 

You chuckled again. “Alright. Alright. Tony.” 

“That’s better.” Stark tossed an apple in the air and moved towards the window. 

You and Steve looked at the doctors expectantly. “How’s it look, doc?” You asked, suddenly a little nervous. 

Dr. Cho smiled in that reassuring way that never failed to help calm you down. “Your vitals look good, you appear to be in healthy condition. By all accounts, you’re perfectly healthy. No lasting consequences from your episode earlier.” 

“Earlier?” Steve asked, instantly on edge. 

“She just means when I came out of the time freeze.” You whispered reassuringly, stroking his arm. 

Steve still glanced at Dr. Cho and didn’t calm down until she nodded. He turned his attention to Stark and Banner, suddenly very suspicious of why they were both in the room. “But?” He asked. 

Dr. Banner smiled forcedly. “But . . . we analyzed the data from your time in the coma. Each time you put yourself back in stasis, there was a notable strain on your body. Maybe if you’d had practice before you used them for the first time . . . you would’ve been able to maintain the stasis for seventy years and still be able to use your powers, but now?” He trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. 

Stark rolled his eyes and came to stand at the foot of the bed. “What he’s getting at is . . . you’re a nurse right?” He asked suddenly. You nodded. “Great. So think of your powers like a muscle. You work it, it grows stronger, you don’t it atrophies. You push it past its levels of endurance . . .” 

“You can kill it.” You finished for him. Steve’s arm around your shoulders tensed. 

Stark nodded. “What you did, Tinkerbell, was incredibly stupid and dangerous.” He pointed between you and Steve. “Which means you two really are a match made in heaven.” 

“What does all this mean?” Steve demanded. You reached over and placed a gentle hand on the soulmate mark on his wrist. The one that bound the two of you together. 

“It means . . . it means that your ‘muscle’ is recovering. Truthfully, it might never be healed. But for now, you definitely need to avoid using your powers. Stopping time at all could kill you.” 

Steve pulled you tightly against his chest as though that action alone could save you from yourself. You pushed the snow-white strands of hair out of your face, the constant reminder that you should be dead, and you glanced around the room. “That shouldn’t be too hard, right? I mean, I didn’t even know about them until . . . well . . . until seventy years ago I suppose. Though it only felt like a moment for me.” 

Dr’s Cho and Banner smiled at you, but there was doubt clearly written in their eyes. You tried not to take it too personally. They gave you the all clear to finally leave the medbay and then quickly left the room leaving you, Steve and Tony alone. Steve was still a tangled ball of stress next to you on the bed. You could practically hear the gears whirling in his mind. 

Tony waited until the door clicked shut behind the Dr’s and then he turned to you. “Don’t worry, Wendy. When you’re feeling better, come to the lab. I have all the new toys. We’ll figure something out. You’re Cap’s family and that makes you our family and we don’t let anything happen to our own.” 

The impassioned speech made you smile. “Thank you, Tony.” 

He smirked at you and tossed the apple at you. Steve caught it before it hit you in the face and sent Tony a dark look as he handed it to you. Tony’s smile only got larger. 

“Thank you?” You asked. 

“He nodded towards it. ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’” He said solemnly before walking out of the room. 

You turned the apple over in your hands and glanced up at Steve. You could still see the tension in his shoulders, but there was a small smile on his face too. “What a strange man.” You remarked. 

Steve’s smile grew brighter. “Couldn’t have said it better myself, doll.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AWWWWWWW! We finally got an actual reunion. With actual lines for poor reader.
> 
> Course we also got a healthy dose of aaaangst. Reader could die oh-me-oh-my.
> 
> Don't worry though. Next chapter is almost pure fluff.
> 
> In other news, I finished writing this tonight. (You know, instead of sleeping.) *Slaps hood of story* you can fit so much fluff and angst in this baby. 
> 
> The question I want to ask you then is this; Would you rather have it posted a chapter a day? Or all at once? Getting it fast is always fun, but getting it slowly adds suspense.


	7. Flirting With your Soulmate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its just fluff. That's the chapter.

Steve held your hand as he guided you through the compound. You were busy taking everything in with wide eyes. The world sure had changed since you’d last lived in it. 

Especially the clothes. 

You glanced down at your ensamble. Nat had lent you a few things. You were unused to wearing jeans. The confining material and the way it rubbed together at the thigh with each step you took was a tad uncomfortable. She had assured you that you would get used to it, but if you were being honest, you kind of missed your dress. 

Steve glanced back at you when he felt you fidgeting. You were glaring at your jeans as though you wished to strip them off and burn them with fire. He chuckled and stopped. You glanced up at him. “Let me show you the rest of the compound and then I’ll take you shopping, doll. They still have skirts and dresses in this time if you’d prefer to wear that. You don’t have to wear pants.” 

Your face lit up and he drew you close and pressed a quick, but heated kiss to your lips. 

“What was that for?” You asked breathlessly as he pulled away. 

He stared at you lovingly. “That was because I’ve missed you doll. So, damn, much.” 

“Steve!” You declared, pulling your hand in front of your mouth as though aghast. “You kiss your soulmate with that mouth?” Your eyes were dancing with laughter as you tsked. “The army sure has changed you, sir.” 

Steve threw his head back and let out a deep laugh. Across the way, Sam started and stared at the man as though Steve had grown a second head. Sam had never seen Steve so carefree before. 

Steve squeezed your hand and turned back to the tour, a smile still dancing on his lips. “Mmm. That’s the thing that you notice the army changed about me? Not the new muscles?” 

You shrugged, although he couldn’t see you. “Those are nice, and all.” You reached out your free and caressed one of the bulging muscles in his arm. “Mmm. Very nice.” You smirked as you heard Steve’s breathing hitch. “But do rippling muscles make up for such dirty language?” The teasing lilt was back in your voice. 

Steve stopped again before spinning around quickly and grabbing you. He hoisted you over his shoulder and took of rapidly down the hallway. 

“Steve!” You chuckled, trying to maintain a serious tone of voice. “Steve! Put me down!” 

Steve was laughing. “Not until you apologize!” 

“Steve!” 

Steve stopped in front of a door and it slid open. He quickly stepped inside. You watched in fascination as the door slid shut automatically. Steve ran down a hallway and then he was gently dumping you on a bed. There was a grin still plastered across both your faces as you looked up at one another. 

“Who’s room is this?” You asked, bringing your knees under you on the bed and glancing around. The room was sparsely furnished and didn’t look very homey although there were a few posters hanging around the room. 

You pulled yourself off the bed and went to look at them. Steve rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he watched you examine his few personal possessions. “It’s mine.” He said. You turned to him in surprise. Not because he’d brought you to his room, he’d done that plenty of times in the past. You were surprised at the slight embarrassment in his tone. You looked at him questioningly. 

“Look . . . doll . . .” Steve moved towards the bed and sat on it hesitantly. He patted the bed beside him in invitation. You sat next to him and took his hands in yours. Steve sighed and looked up at you. “We never really talked about . . . us.” 

Your brow furrowed further as you grew more confused. 

“It’s just . . . we’ve both been apart for over seventy years and if things between us changed . . . I don’t want you to feel pressured . . . that is . . . we don’t have to pick up where we left off if you know what I mean.” Steve finished, ducking his head so you wouldn’t see the traitorous blush creeping up his face. 

You laughed. “Steve.” You said gently, laying a hand on his shoulder and waiting for him to glance back up at you. When he finally did, he was smiling ruefully as though having said the words out loud, he could now see how ridiculous they sounded. 

“Steve . . . I was frozen in time and then I was kind of unconscious for a little while. Not sure if you noticed.” You joked, punching his shoulder lightly. Your smile faded. “Steve . . . from my perspective . . . the last time I saw you was two weeks ago. You told me that you were ‘finally going to end this all and avenge Bucky in the process’. For me, it’s like no time has passed at all.” You paused and slowly removed your hands from his person. You dropped them into your lap and began to twist them. “Have things change for you? Nat said that you’ve been here, now, for awhile and I understand if you found someone new . . .” 

“Hey. Hey now.” Steve reached over and tugged on one of your hands until it was clasped in his. He reached over with his free hand and used it to tilt your chin up until you were looking into his eyes. “Doll, there’s never been anyone else. You’re it for me.” 

A breathtaking grin painted your lips and you threw yourself at him, tackling him to the bed in his surprise. You pressed your lips to in a heated display of affection. You’d missed him ‘so damn much’. 

He rolled the two of you over until you were laying side by side. Then, he pulled away. “Move back in with me, doll.” He breathed. 

You smiled. “On one condition, soldier.” 

“Anything.” 

“You take me shopping first. This place needs a feminine touch. It’s downright depressing as is.” 

Steve chuckled and got to his feet, pulling you out of the bed with him. 

“If you insist.”


	8. The Truth Behind the Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all ready for another "science" chapter? ;)

Steve held tightly to your hand as he pulled you down the hallway. It had been almost a week since your little shopping trip, and things had been going so well. Steve had been proud of your progress with the technology ‘training wheels’ that Tony had sent over and Cho had taken you on as sort of an apprentice. She’d been impressed with how much you had learned as a field medic during the war. She seemed to think that you had a chance of putting the same skills to use in more modern times. Of course, life wasn’t a fairy-tale and there had yet to be a ‘happily ever after’. So it was no surprise when your week of domestic bliss ended. 

“It was an accident.” You whispered, trying to reason with Steve. “No one got hurt.” 

“No one got hurt, yet.” He growled. You gulped. You had never, in either of your lifetimes, seen Steve this angry before. 

You closed your mouth tightly and focused on keeping up with Steve’s large strides. 

Before you knew it, you were bursting into what looked like a very expensive laboratory. Mr. Stark . . . Tony was in the corner, tinkering with what looked like an automated arm. Bruce was standing next to him, pointing something out. Both scientists glanced up as you marched in. 

“Steve? And . . . Darling!” Tony’s eyes lit up when he spotted you. “Finally come to see my toys?” 

Steve pulled you forward and sat you in a chair in front of the men. He gestured at you. Seemingly at a loss for words, he just bit out; “Fix her.” 

Tony glanced at you with confusion bubbling in his eyes. “There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her.” He said slowly. 

You fiddled with the hem of your sleeve. “What Steve means to say is that I time froze again.” 

Dr. Banner and Tony froze. The grins falling slowly off their faces. For a brief moment all of you sat in stunned silence and then Dr. Banner and Tony were on their feet, running around the lab. 

“Start scanning JARVIS!” Tony called out. You jumped as a robotic voice responded. 

“Right away, sir.” 

You’d been introduced to Tony’s AI but you tended to avoid the . . . creature . . . whenever possible. You’d grown in leaps and bounds with the technology of the modern age but something about the faceless man still put you slightly on edge. 

You jumped again as lights flickered up and down your skin. You glanced around, but no one else seemed concerned, well, besides Steve. But he was overreacting at the moment and was hardly a good comparison. It must be JARVIS’ scans then. 

“How’d this happen?” Dr. Banner asked, stepping up to you. He placed his hands on either side of your face and tilted your face up. Using his fingers, he opened your eyes wider and peered into them. 

“I was holding a glass and I dropped it and panicked. The next thing I knew, everyone around me had stopped. I picked the glass back up and set it on the counter and just like that, everything caught up again.” 

Tony froze in the middle of rummaging through a box of miscellaneous parts. “You didn’t freeze with everyone else this time?” 

You shook your head. 

Dr. Banner and Tony exchanged significant glances before Dr. Banner turned and pulled up a computer screen. 

“What are the vitals, JARVIS?” He asked. 

“Respiratory and Circulatory systems appear to be functioning correctly. She has an elevated heart rate but that has only been the case since arriving in the lab. Perfectly natural under the circumstances. The Heart is showing signs of strain, however, the Brain scans . . ." 

“What is it?” Steve cut in, tension in his tone. ”What’s wrong?” 

A scan of what you could only imagine to be your brain lit up on the screen, a single glowing portion highlighted. 

“Oh dear.” You murmured. 

Dr. Banner glanced at you sharply. “You know what you’re looking at?” 

You bit my lip and nodded. “The hypothalamus shouldn’t look like that.” 

“I don’t understand.” Steve said frustratedly. 

You stood up and pointed to the glowing bit of your brain on the screen. “Steve . . . that’s supposed to be half the size that it is.” You whispered. 

Steve looked like he was going to be sick. 

You walked back towards him and wrapped your arms around his waist, leaning your head against his chest as Dr. Banner and Tony exchanged a few words. 

“Doc?” Steve asked, pulling their attention back to you two. 

Dr. Banner removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Everything I’m about to tell you is . . . educated guesswork at best. But I think it’s the most logical thing we’ve got.” Banner moved to the screen and pointed at the highlighted part of your brain again. “The hypothalamus is kind of the balancing act of the brain. It’s one job is to keep everything balanced . . . to keep everything in homeostasis. It does a lot of things, but the most important things that it does are to regulate body temperature, emotions, blood pressure and heart rate.” 

“Okay . . . “ Steve trailed off, following along but still not seeing the bigger picture. 

Dr. Banner continued. “Cap, when your soulmate froze time, her hypothalamus went into overdrive.” He glanced at you. “Your powers activated because you were exposed to a high amount of stress right? A huge spike in emotion.” 

You nodded. You could still remember the pure panic and horror you’d felt as you watched the man with the manic expression in his eyes press the button connected to the bomb laden vest. 

“Steve, keeping nearly an acre of land frozen in time for nearly seventy years was no small feat. Especially for someone who’d never used their powers up to that point.” 

Tony jumped into the conversation. “We’ve been trying to figure out how you were able to power such a long-term feat of wonder that no doubt has Einstein rolling in his grave. Frankly, you shouldn’t have survived it. We know that you were pulling some of the energy out of the bomb itself, but the rest of it?” Tony shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly, but you could see the frustration in his eyes that he’d been unable to solve this particular riddle. 

“What are you saying?” Steve demanded. 

“Cap, there’s a lot we don’t understand here, but the gist of it is that Darling over there was exposed to a life-threatening event that triggered high stress levels. The high stress levels triggered her powers which we THINK originate in the hypothalamus. It would explain why it’s so big at least.” Tony trailed off and glanced at the screen before swinging around to point at you again. “You overworked the muscle, young lady.” You gave a repentant shrug. “The threat was frozen alongside you, and it’s not like you could unfreeze it without killing everyone in the room, so you stayed locked away. The hypothalamus was in a constant state of stress, unable to maintain balance. It was in paradox.” 

“But I’m out now. Shouldn’t it be healing?” 

Dr. Banner and Stark glanced at each other as Steve hugged you even more tightly to his chest. “It should be . . .” Dr. Banner agreed slowly. 

“But it’s not.” Tony concluded. 

“What?!” Steve demanded, harshly. 

Tony glanced back at the screens. “From the scans, it’s actually showing even more strain now than it was when you were in your coma. That coupled with the fact that you’re not remaining frozen alongside the rest of the world when you freeze time . . . I’d say it’s getting worse.” 

“And there’s nothing you can do to stop it?” Steve asked worriedly. You reached back and rubbed your hands up and down his back in a soothing manner but you had a feeling you knew what they were going to say. 

Dr. Banner gestured around the lab. “We can study it. Try to learn more about it. Until then, we’re flying blind. I haven’t heard of anything like this before. How about you, Tony?” 

Tony shook his head. “’Fraid not, Capsicle, Mrs. Capsicle. The best option would be to put you to sleep for awhile and monitor you from there. Can’t do much if you’re unconscious . . .” 

“No.” You grit out, firmly. 

Tony didn’t seem surprised by your outburst. “Then the most we can do is recommend staying in calming environments. Stress seems to be the trigger. You need to avoid it at all costs. Come back tomorrow and we’ll run another series of scans.” 

You nodded against Steve’s chest while Tony glanced up at him. 

“What’s the worst case scenario here?” Steve asked. You closed your eyes. You knew that answer too. You prayed the two scientists wouldn’t say anything although you knew your hopes were in vain. 

It was Dr. Banner who shattered your dreams altogether. “Worst case scenario is the next time she uses her powers, they kill her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that folks, is what we call "foreshadowing". Dun-Dun-Duuuuuuuuuuh!
> 
> Once again we have an awful lot of plausible but made up science in our midst! What did you think?
> 
> I spent quite a bit of time researching the various parts of the brain for this chapter. The Hypothalamus was just too good to pass up on. Especially when I saw everything it controls. Obviously the Reader's time freezes are some kind of highly emotional, life-or-death, flight-or-fight response to stimuli. So . . . hypothalamus it is.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	9. Trust Issues

You didn’t know what was worse; the fact that Steve had dragged you to the living room and mumbled something about “needing some air” before abandoning you, or the fact that he’d clearly sent Nat and Clint to babysit you. Every time you so much as sifted on the sofa, you could feel their eyes on you, watching. Waiting. Analyzing everything. 

“I’m curious.” You finally said, keeping your gaze focused on the television. “What did Steve offer you in exchange for babysitting me for the afternoon?” 

Clint opened his mouth to say something but Nat casually reached out and threw the remote at him, hitting him square in the face. 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen Cap all day.” She said smoothly. 

Clint seemed to catch on quickly. “Yeah. Isn’t it Thursday? I think he normally goes running with his friend from the park.” 

“Friend?” You questioned, turning your full attention to the spy. Clint’s eyes widened and he started backpedaling. Behind you, Nat rolled her eyes and threw her head back dramatically. 

“Just a friend! A manly friend. Male. It’s not a girl. Definitely not another woman. Nope. No-sir-ee. Platonic as it gets those two.” 

“Huh.” You said, slumping back into your seat and furrowing your brow. 

Clint jumped out of his seat and moved to sit beside you. “Seriously, he’s not cheating on you.” 

“Seriously, Barton? I thought you were a spy!” Nat chastised as she stood up from her seat and cuffed Clint over the head. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the sofa. “Go to your room and think of ways to be a better liar!” She practically threw him from the room. 

Nat slowly moved around the sofa and knelt in front of you. She took one of your hands in hers. “Barton . . . he means well. But he’s an idiot.” She began. You smiled. “Steve wouldn’t cheat on you.” She reached out a finger and trailed it down the soulmate mark on your wrist. “This means something to him. You know?” 

You chuckled lightly and pulled your hand out of her grasp. You pulled your knees to your chest and wrapped your arms around them. “I know that, Nat. There was never a doubt in my mind.” 

Nat moved to take Clint’s spot beside you. “Then why so glum?” 

You shook your head slowly, debating what to tell her. “He’s . . . different, Nat.” 

“Different? Different how?” 

You bit your lip and pondered her question. “He’s more protective for one thing.” 

Nat chuckled lightly and bumped your shoulder with hers. “I don’t think you can blame him for that.” 

You smiled and shook your head. “Of course not. I feel the same way about him. I thought he’d died and to find out that he hadn’t?” You shook your head again. “I can’t even put that feeling into words. I’d do anything to keep him safe.” 

“So what’s the problem then?” 

“This goes beyond protecting me from HYRDA or from SHIELD or from anything dangerous. It’s almost like . . . like . . . it’s almost like he’s trying to protect me from the entire world. Since I woke up, Steve hasn’t left my side and don’t get me wrong! It’s been amazing. It’s been the perfect week . . .” 

“But?” 

“But I haven’t been outside once. I’ve hardly left the room.” 

Nat smirked at you and you shook your head exasperatedly. “Not like that.” You clarified. Your smiled faded. “It feels like there’s two parts to him. There’s the part that’s so similar to the man that I fell in love with back in our time and then there’s the man that he became when he was brought out of the ice. He started a whole life here, Nat. He built something. Clint mentioned he has friends. Friends I’ve never heard of, let alone met.” 

“Maybe Steve just wanted some time alone with you. I know that for you, things happened in a flash, but Steve’s been here for a while now. And he’s missed you that entire time.” 

You nodded slowly. “Maybe.” You agreed, but you weren’t convinced. 

Nat sighed. “Not buying it, huh?” She asked. You gave her an apologetic look. “Where’s all this coming from, anyway? You two looked awfully cozy yesterday. Why start doubting it now?” 

“I’m not doubting.” You were quick to defend. “Just . . .” You sighed and dropped your forehead to your knees which were still firmly pressed against your chest. “There was a small incident this morning.” 

“When you froze time?” 

You squinted at her. “How did you . . . You know what? Never mind. Yes. When I froze time. Steve didn’t take it well. He insisted that we see Tony and Dr. Banner about it.” 

“What did they say?” 

“It’s getting worse.” 

Nat fell silent for several moments while she processed the information. 

“That’s why Steve was so agitated when he asked Clint and I to come watch over you.” 

You raised your head and tried to plaster a winning smile on your face. “Ah-ha! I knew you’d been sent to babysit me.” 

She saw past the ruse and reached over to rub as soothing hand up and down your back. 

“He’s in love with you. He’s not going to change his mind about that.” 

You nodded. “I know he loves me.” You agreed. “I’m worried he doesn’t trust me.” 

“Is that what you think?” A new voice came from behind you. You dropped your knees and spun around on the couch to see Steve standing in the doorway with a broken expression on his face. “You think I don’t trust you?” 

You barely registered Nat slowly slink out of the room as you stood and raced to Steve’s side. “How much of that did you hear?” 

Steve ignored the question and asked one of his own. “Doll, of course I trust you. You have one of the most honest hearts of anyone I’ve ever known. How could you think I don’t trust you?” 

You bit your lip and glanced around the common rooms in the compound. You grabbed Steve’s hand and pulled him towards your shared rooms. As soon as the door slid shut behind you; you dropped Steve’s hand and started pacing while twisting your own hands together. 

Steve stood just inside the doorway, the same kicked-puppy-dog expression on his face that tore at your heartstrings. “It’s not . . . you do trust . . .” You took a deep breath. “Steve, you trust me to be honest. You trust me when I say that I love you. You trust me not to share with the rest of the team some of the embarrassing photographs that Nat gave me of you when I first woke up. But Steve . . . you don’t trust me to take care of myself.” You paused in your pacing to look up at him. You watched as a mask seemed to slide into place. You weren’t talking to Steve Rogers any longer. You were talking to Captain America. 

“Can you deny it?” You whispered. 

Steve let out a long breath and tilted his head up to look at the ceiling. “No, doll. I don’t suppose I can.” He glanced back down at you. “In my defense, you have a long history of running headfirst into trouble without thinking things through.” 

Your mouth gaped open. “Excuse me?” 

Steve smiled and closed the distance between you, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you close to his chest. “You do remember the time you made me promise that I’d win the war and come back to you in one piece, right? And how I found you in the middle of the same wars less than a month later?” 

You slammed your mouth closed and glanced over his shoulder with an air of disregard. “I remember hearing about how a certain someone jumped out of more than one airplane without a parachute on. If I’m headstrong and rash, it’s only because I learned it from the best.” 

Steve smirked, but there was a sadness in his eyes. “Bucky rued the day the two of us finally found each other. Said that between the two of us we somehow managed to get even dumber.” 

You smiled sadly as well, thinking of your long-lost friend. “Imagine what he would say if he were still around today? I think he would actually carry through on his threat to chain me to a radiator and leave me there to rot.” 

“I’ve half a mind to do it myself.” Steve joked, trying to lighten the mood. 

You wanted to let him, but you weren’t the ‘sweep it under the rug and hope it goes away’ kind of gal. 

“Steve. I know you’re worried and I’ll be the first to admit, this is extremely risky. But we won’t know more unless we look at the problem, right? Besides, Tony Stark seems to have inherited more than enough of his father’s genius and Dr. Banner is quite the expert as well. Not to mention, I’m not slouch when it comes to medicine myself. I did have ambitions to be a doctor once upon a time, remember?” 

“How could I forget? If you weren’t getting in alley fights alongside me you were stuck in the library with your nose in a book.” 

“Exactly. So please. Trust me enough to do what I feel is best. Trust me to take care of myself.” 

Steve gazed deeply into your eyes, begging for a weak link in your resolve. When he found none, he reluctantly sighed and nodded. “On one condition.” He said, halting the growing grin on your face. “Come back to me in one piece and preferably in than seventy years this time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone always talks about how Tony seems to adopt every stray he comes across . . . but what about Clint and Nat? They are just as adoptey. Really, it's what makes the whole team so great. Everyone is adopting everyone else till it's a big 'ol family.


	10. The Science Bro's

“I was up all night thinking about this.” You said, as you marched into the lab the next morning. Dr. Banner and Tony glanced up from whatever they’d been working on. Neither of them looked like they’d gotten much sleep either. 

“Someone got an extra helping of fairy-dust this morning.” Tony sassed as he took another swig of his spiked coffee. 

“Morning.” Dr. Banner said, leaning against the desk. 

“Does Spangles know you didn’t get any sleep? Because as someone who’s been on the receiving end of more than one of his ‘healthy habits’ lectures, I gotta say, he’s not going to like this.” Tony noted. 

“He doesn't know, and he’s not going to know or I’m going to become your worst nightmare.” You muttered pointing at him threateningly. 

Tony’s grin grew broader. “I’m always up for keeping secrets from the Capsicle. Now, what do you got?” 

You arched an eyebrow at Dr. Banner, silently asking for his word that he wouldn’t tell Steve about your sleepless night either. Last night, you and Steve had finally, FINALLY, gotten back on the same page. You weren’t going to throw him for another loop just yet and you knew for a FACT that a sleepless night would have Steve mother-henning you faster than he’d cobbled together new identities to join the army with each time he’d been rejected. 

Dr. Banner raised his hands in surrender. “I’ve been on the receiving end of a few of those myself. Your secret is safe with me.” 

Your smile could have lit the entire room. “Excellent! Now then, gentlemen; I was up all night thinking about our little . . . ‘situation’ and I’ve come up with a couple great ideas.” 

“Oh no. No, no, no. I’ve seen that look.” Tony said, jumping out of his chair and pointing at your face. “You and Steve are perfect for each other, you know that? That’s the same look he has on his face whenever he has a ‘brilliant idea’ and you know how those always work out? Terribly.” 

Your smile grew even larger. “But I’m not Steve!” 

“Oh yeah? What does that make you then?” Tony asked sarcastically. 

You paused as if to consider it for a moment. Your smile turned slightly terrifying. “The fun one.” 

Tony groaned as he walked behind the lead partition. “How’d you talk me into this again?” He asked. Bruce smiled at him from across the way as he typed something on his computer. 

You stood in the middle of an empty room. Attached to your head were hundreds of wires all connected to a helmet of some kind that Tony had secured over your head. In front of you, a small table stood with a single apple placed on the middle of it. 

“I don’t remember having to do much convincing.” You noted. 

Tony pointed an accusing finger at you around the partition. “That’s because you played to my ego!” 

You chuckled. “I did. I played you like a fiddle.” It had been relatively easy to goad the inventor into experimenting with your powers after you’d goaded him into doing the math on just how risky it was to practice with them. Turned out, the worst case scenario only had an eight percent chance of happening. Besides, Tony and Bruce kept insisting that your powers were like a muscle. How would it grow if you didn’t practice with them? 

Tony glared, but there was no heat behind it. “Just . . . promise me that Captain Righteousness isn’t going to storm in here in the next few minutes and kill me in my sleep. 

“I promise he won’t kill you in your sleep in the next few minutes.” You lowered your voice. “He's perfectly capable of killing you while you're wide awake.” 

“I heard that!” 

You rolled your eyes. “I’m joking. Of course. Steve promised me that he would stay away today. I think he said that he was going to be training with the recruits if you want to check in on him.” 

“Thank you, I would.” Tony said, moving towards one of his spare computer screens. 

You had promised that you would be careful but in return, you’d made Steve promise to let you do this on your own. It was important to you that he let you fight your own battles. 

He hadn’t liked it, but he would have been a hypocrite to deny you this so he’d grudgingly agreed. 

“Alright, Tinkerbell. He's definitely occupied, so lets get this ball rolling before he gets suspicious and comes to check up on us. You ready Bruce?” 

Bruce nodded and came to stand behind the partition as well. 

“Okay. Everything’s all set. The partition should keep us safe from any . . . effects of your powers. When you’re ready, knock the apple off and try to freeze it like you did the coffee mug.” Bruce said, smiling at you reassuringly. 

You nodded and turned your attention to the apple. Without taking too much time to overthink your actions, you shoved the apple off the table. 

It quickly hit the floor and bounced away. 

“That’s okay. Try again.” Bruce said. 

Tony’s robotic arm chased after the apple before picking it up and handing it to you. You awkwardly thanked it before setting the apple on the table. You stared at it deeply, willing your powers to activate and then you once again shoved it off the table. 

Once again it bounced as it hit the floor and rolled away. 

For the next hour, you continued to practice, desperately trying to dig deep and find your powers within you. You couldn’t say why exactly it was so important to you to figure this out, but it was like an itch you couldn’t scratch. This gut feeling that you needed to figure it out and that you were running out of time to do it. 

The apple hit the floor again, this time more applesauce than apple. 

“This isn’t working.” Tony said suddenly, clearly bored. 

“Tony!” Bruce chastised. 

“No. He’s right.” You huffed in frustration. Why couldn’t you do it? What was holding you back? 

Dum-E reached up and put the apple back on the table, beeping happily. You patted its head. 

You reached down and picked the apple up, glaring at it as though it was the source of all your problems. 

“What you need, is some motivation.” Stark continued, a mischievous tone in his voice. 

“Wha . . .” You started. Suddenly, the sharp whistle of an oncoming train screeched through the lab. You jolted and the apple slipped from your fingers and . . . and . . . and never hit the ground. 

You stared wide-eyed at the apple, suspended in time and air. “Tony? Bruce?” You breathed, hardly daring to move as you stared at it. You’d done it. You’d finally done it. 

“You did it! You did it! But you’ve got to drop it Darling!” Tony’s voice yelled. It sounded hazy in your ears. The distant sounds of various alarms going off hardly phasing you. “Drop it now!” Tony yelled your real name and your mind jolted to reality. You dropped your hands and the apple splattered to the ground, finally giving up the ghost. 

You swayed on your feet slightly as you came fully back to the present. The second the apple splattered, Tony and Bruce rushed to your side. Bruce grabbed one of your arms and eased you to the floor as Tony carefully removed the wire helmet from your head. As soon as it was gone, Bruce gently tucked your head between your knees and instructed you to breathe slowly. 

Above your head, Tony and Bruce glanced at each other nervously. 

When you had frozen the apple in midair, you hadn’t frozen with it, true. But you hadn’t been moving as quickly as a normal human either. It was almost like you’d been slowed down. The scans of your brain had gone wild. Your brain had lit up like a Christmas tree. Almost all areas of the brain were active simultaneously as though you were processing stimuli from both the frozen past, the present, and the future that was moving along without you in it. How you had survived almost a century locked in that eternal struggle was nothing short of a miracle. 

Only one true conclusion could be reached by the two scientists. Though these powers may have once saved your life . . . they were now going to be the death of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only three chapters to go and we haven't seen the half of the angst yet. *Twilight Zone Theme Song Plays* Are you ready for it?


	11. Limits

You paced around the lab, biting your lip. “So you’re saying that it’s not as bad as we were thinking.” 

Tony and Bruce exchanged a glance. “I’m pretty sure that’s not what we said.” Tony said wryly. 

“You said that I could use my powers. That they wouldn’t kill me.” 

“No. We said that you can use them, in short bursts, and they won’t kill you. Quickly at any rate. But you can only hold it for a few seconds of your perceived time before your brain will go into overdrive and shut down.” 

“So . . . not as bad as we were thinking.” 

“Darling . . .” 

“Tony . . .” 

Tony turned to Bruce. “Care to help a guy out here?” 

Bruce shrugged. “You seem to be doing well enough on your own.” 

Tony sighed and glanced at the floor, shoulders sagging. “All we’re saying is that you need to be careful. Really, really careful.” He stood and came up to you, putting his hands on your shoulders and looking you in the eye. “Not the way that Cap is careful. I mean actually, really, sane person, careful. I meant what I said before, Tinkerbell. You’re family now.” He squeezed your shoulders gently and gave you a loving smirk. For a brief moment, you felt a familiar sense of comradery with him and then he went and ruined it. “Besides, if you died Cap would go back to being a brooding mess of depressed righteousness and NO ONE want’s that.” 

You rolled your eyes but nodded. You understood. 

Soulmates were rare. Two halves of a single soul. Always meant to find each other. It was very unusual that a soulmate survived long once their other half was dead. To be separated at all meant a fierce agony that tore at one’s soul. You suspected that the only reason either of you had managed to survive the first time was because neither of you had actually been dead. How Steve had survived the lonely years after the ice but before he had found you was beyond your comprehension. Had the roles been reversed, you were sure you would have gone mad. For Steve to lose you again now . . . you shuddered at the thought. You’d just have to do everything in your power to keep yourself alive. 

If that meant putting your powers aside for good? You could do that. There were infinite possibilities in this new world of yours. Women had more opportunities than they’d ever had before. Perhaps you really would finally go on to be a medical doctor like you’d once dreamed of. Maybe the Avengers was one war that you didn’t need to follow Steve into. 

“We’ll continue analyzing the data. But for what it’s worth, I agree with Tony.” Bruce shrugged. “Think of it as a blessing, though. It’s not always a good thing to be . . . super.” 

You smiled softly and nodded. “You’re right. Both of you are. Try not to let that go to your head, Tony.” 

“Hey now.” 

“Respect your elders.” You shot back with a grin. Tony had jokingly said that to you once and you’d liberally started sassing him back with it whenever possible. 

“Thank you both. I think . . . well . . . I think I just needed closure on it. You know?” You asked. They both nodded. You smiled once more and turned to leave the lab. “I should get going before Steve comes looking for me.” 

“You should tell him what we talked about you know.” Tony said, fiddling with a piece of tech in his hands. 

You nodded. “I will . . . I’ll even try to avoid mentioning just how much of it was your idea.” 

You skipped out of the lab, a huge grin on your face despite the worries on the back of your mind as Tony sputtered behind you. 

“JARVIS?” You asked hesitatingly, glancing up at the ceiling. 

“Yes, ma’am. How can I be of assistance?” 

“Can you tell me where Steve is?” 

“Currently he is pacing in your shared residence. Would you like me to request he come to you?” 

“No. That’s alright. I think I’ll go to him. Thank you, though.” 

“Anytime.” 

You smiled your thanks at the ceiling even though you knew that technically the robotic man didn’t live there and started making your way back to your apartment. Your mind was a jumble of contradictory thoughts. 

There had only been two constants in your life since you’d woken up on the other end of the turn of the century. Steve and your powers. Although it had been disorienting to discover that you had them, and that Steve was still alive after all this time and after he’d been declared dead . . . in the short week that you’d been awake your powers had come to feel like a part of you and the fact that you were essentially, and for your own good, virtually cut off from them . . . well . . . you mourned for it. The part of you that you felt you had lost. Still though, your other constant remained whole and healthy. Steve. Oh, how you loved him. It was more than the soul bond, calling you in and pulling you close. The tiny speck of your soul that rebelled against the thought of fate and forced destiny . . . that tiny piece of you had fallen head over heels in love with him too. There wasn’t anything you wouldn’t do for him. Including giving up your other constant. If it gave him piece of mind . . . it was worth it. 

You pressed your hand against the metal door separating yourself from the love of your life. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Steve was your constant. Your family. Your home. Everything else could come and go, but as long as you had him, you’d be okay. 

You opened the door and Steve froze mid-step as he heard the door. He took a single instant to look you up and down, head to toe, before he crossed the space between you and wrapped you tightly up in his arms. 

You laughed. “Calm down, soldier! You’re acting like I just got home from war.” 

He grumbled something under his breath and squeezed you tightly once more before easing his grip and leading you to the couch. He pulled you down until you were sitting on his lap, his arms wrapped around you and your head leaning against his chest. 

“How’d it go?” He asked quietly, stroking your back. 

“As well as could be expected.” You said. You took a breath and decided to be honest. “We . . . experimented a little.” Steve’s grip tightened and his breathing hitched. You absently reached up and patted his check. “It was perfectly safe, of course. I just . . . waking up seventy years in the future was . . . a shock. I’m sure you can understand that of all things. And then I found out that I’d done it. I have . . . had these powers and they saved me. And not just me, but all those other men. It’s something out of a fairytell. Rip Van Winkle maybe.” 

“Except you didn’t wake up old and grey.” Steve laughed. 

You smiled. “Exactly. I guess I just needed to know for sure what my options were. You know I can’t stay locked away in my tower forever, Steve. You couldn’t keep me in my tower in the 40s and you certainly won’t be able to do it now.” 

“No. But I can hope.” He whispered. “I want you to be safe, doll. I’ll always want that.” 

You pulled away from him and placed both hands on either side of his face. You leaned down and pecked him on the lips. “I want the same for you. Why do you think I followed you into battle the first time? Huh?” 

He reached up and gripped your wrists gently, pulling them away from your face. He stared deeply into your eyes. “Is that what all this has been about?” His brow furrowed and a look of disbelief crossed his face. “Doll, were you hoping to be able to use your powers to join the Avengers? Were you trying to join another war?” 

You shook his hands off your wrists curled yourself back into his chest. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Honest. I don’t think it was about joining a war this time, Steve. It was about being with you. I can’t . . . I can’t lose you again.” 

“Oh, doll.” Steve’s voice broke and he hugged you close and buried his face in your hair. 

The two of you sat quietly for a moment, just listening to each others hearts beating. Content to just be together. 

“I know you’re dying to ask.” You said quietly, breaking the comfortable silence. “So, I'll just tell you. I’ve made my peace with it. My powers aren’t as deadly as we thought they were. But they’re dangerous enough. We will have to be careful. Stress seems to be the trigger for them. A few seconds here or there won’t kill me, but anything worse than that could have serious repercussions.” 

Steve held you tighter for a moment and you could feel the worry bubbling up inside of him. You rubbed a hand against his chest in a soothing motion. “I wish I could take the worry away.” You whispered. “But I can’t bring myself to wish that I didn’t have these powers Steve.” You pulled away to look him in the eye again. 

“How can you say that?” He asked quietly, searching your eyes. 

You placed a hand against his cheek. “Because without them, I wouldn’t be here with you now. This a gift worth any sacrifice.” 

You watched as tears welled up in Steve’s eyes. You leaned in to kiss him and he met you halfway. The force and passion behind his kiss took your breath away. It was as though he was putting every moment he’d missed you for the past seventy years into the one kiss, desperate to show you how much he loved you. How much he always would. 

You pulled away minutes or maybe hours later, panting heavily. He smirked at your dazed expression before leaning in and planting a few quick pecks to your swollen lips. 

“I love you, doll.” 

“I love you too, Stevie. Recklessness and all.” 

Steve opened his mouth to respond, but a voice cut him off. 

“Sir? Ma’am? Agent Romanov needs to speak with you. She says its urgent.” 

Confusion crossed Steve’s face briefly before he responded. “Put her through, JARVIS.” 

“Steve? We’ve got trouble.” 

“What is it, Nat?” 

“It’s Fury. He's demanding to meet Darling. I don’t think I can stall him any longer.” 

Steve’s Captain America mask slipped into place and a murderous glare took up residence. You bit your lip. 

“Options?” 

Nat sighed. “I think your best bet is to get it over with.” 

“I don’t like this, Nat.” 

“I know, Cap. I don’t either. But I meant what I said when we first found her. I’m not gonna let him take her away. You hear me Darling? You’re not going anywhere.” 

“Thank you.” You said, reaching out to lace your hand through Steve’s. He spared you a loving glance before he pulled you up and towards the doors. 

“Tell Fury we’re on our way.” 

You followed Steve silently, but inside you were a festering mess. The feeling that something was about to go very, very wrong was growing inside of you. You’d felt this way only once before. The day that you’d been summoned to the reserves base in Brampton. You squeezed Steve’s hand a little bit tighter as he led you to the compound hanger. You weren’t completely powerless this time at least. A few seconds was all you had if your powers activated. But a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death. You just hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun-Dun-Duuuuuh. I think we all know that nothing good could possibly come from any kind of meeting with Fury. The question is . . . what's about to go wrong?


	12. Fateful Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what? I couldn't resist. Enjoy the bonus chapter for today!

Steve held your hand tightly as he led you off the quinjet and onto the deck of the massive flying ship he’d called the ‘helicarrier’. Of all the things you’d seen of the future, this feet of engineering took your breath away. That they could keep something this large suspended in the air . . . Bucky would have loved it. 

You crowded closer to Steve the further into the behemoth you went. Maybe you were being paranoid, but you could swear that you felt eyes on you everywhere. Steve squeezed your hand reassuringly, but you weren’t comforted. Not when he’d felt the need to stop by his locker on the way to the jet to don his Captain America uniform. He even had the shield slung across the back. 

Steve stopped in front of a door and glanced down at you. His mouth was set in a grim line but his eyes said it all. ‘I love you. I won’t let anything happen to you.’ 

You squeezed his hand and tried to send a message with your own eyes. ‘I know and I love you too.’ 

Steve opened the door and led you inside. 

The room was huge. A wall of glass overlooked the sea far below you. Dozens of agents sat at the various computer consoles, a jumble of murmurs coming from them. A few glanced your way as you entered the room, but most seemed focused on their screens. You couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were looking at. 

An intimidating man stood at the center of it all, a woman stood next to him, arms crossed over her chest, murmuring something you couldn’t hear. 

Steve cleared his throat and the man’s shoulders tensed, the only sign that he’d heard Steve at all. 

“Keep an eye on the situation.” The man told the woman. The woman nodded and turned away. She smiled politely at you as she passed, before disappearing out the room and down another hallway. 

“You wanted to see us?” Steve asked, once the woman had disappeared from view. His words were polite but his tone was hard and unforgiving. Steve clearly had issues with this man. You moved a little closer to him, needing the reassurance of his presence in a room full of the unfamiliar. 

The man turned and took you in. You noticed the eye-patch covering his eye and the dark lines that shot out from it. You absently wondered what had happened to him. 

The man looked you up and down and seemed none too impressed with what he saw. 

“I wanted to see the girl.” He said, dismissing Steve entirely. 

“Well, you got both of us. What do you want?” Steve took a slight step in front of you although he kept your hand grasped firmly in his own. 

“Easy now, Captain. I’m not threatening your soulmate.” 

“I would say demanding her presence is a threat of its own.” 

Director Fury held up his hands in silent surrender. “I simply wanted to know what all the fuss was about. There’s been a lot of chatter on the HYDRA lines about your girl over there, Rogers. Seemed foolish not to check my facts.” 

Steve’s grip on your hand tightened minutely. You didn’t blame him. Something felt . . . off. You shifted on your feet slightly and glanced around the room. Was it your imagination, or was the room a little bit emptier than it had been before? 

“Well, you’ve met her. We done here?” 

“I wouldn’t say I’ve met her. She hasn’t said a word since she stepped on the bridge.” Director Fury sidestepped Steve headed towards you. He held his hand out to shake yours. “Hello. I’m Director Fury. It’s nice to meet you.” 

You reached out to take his hand before it finally hit you. It took every ounce of the months of wartime training you’d had, which, from your perspective had only been a month ago, to respond as quickly as you did. “Down!” You yelled, grabbing Steve’s arm and Director Fury’s hand and pulling them to the ground just as a bomb of some kind launched over your heads. The bomb exploded on the other end of the room and your hands instinctively rose to your ears, trying to tune out the horrible ringing. You glanced at Steve. He was mouthing the words ‘concussion grenade’ at Director Fury as the two men pushed to their feet. Steve reached back and ripped the shield off his back and flung it out, knocking several agents down. Director Fury had gone for his gun and was shooting people. 

You stumbled to your feet and glanced around you, brows furrowed, and brain muddled. One of the agents Steve hit with the shield dropped a gun as he was tossed back. The gun skittered towards you and you picked it up instinctively. Thank Heavens weapons technology hadn’t changed too much. It was still as simple as point and shoot. 

You aimed the weapon and fired several rounds at the men approaching your position. You were no soldier, but you recognized bad odds when you saw them. You were quickly being surrounded. It was impossible to tell who was on your side and who wasn’t, but the odds didn’t look good in your favor. Slowly, the ringing in your ears started to die down and the sounds of battle grew stronger. 

“Hill! Hill! Damn it! They took out communications!” Director Fury was yelling. 

“To the compound too! We’re on our own.” Steve grunted. 

You fired another few rounds, taking out an agent who’d been about to shoot Fury in the back. 

“Enough!” Shouted a voice. Everyone froze and your attention was pulled to the man standing across the room on the elevated platform. “That’s enough.” 

The agents around the room froze, but kept their fingers on the triggers of their weapons. You shifted nervously on the balls of your feet. Steve’s eyes were darting around the room, desperate to find a way out. None of the options looked promising. All the exits were cut off, unless he wanted to swan dive out the window. Something told him, though, you wouldn’t survive the fall and he wasn’t willing to risk your safety. 

“Rumlow. I should have known.” Fury spit. “What do you want?” 

“I want what the whole world wants.” Rumlow responded. He pointed at you. “I want her.” 

Steve clenched his teeth. “Not going to happen.” 

Rumlow chuckled. “Well then, I’d say it’s a good thing that it’s not up to you, Captain.” 

Rumlow jerked his chin and suddenly, several agents were grabbing Steve and Fury and pulling them away from you. It took five agents to restrain Steve, pulling him further away from you. You moved to go after him, but the sound of cocking guns froze you in your steps. 

“Ah, ah, ah, sweetheart. Not so fast. You move a muscle and soldier-boy over there gets it. He might have survived the ice, but let’s see if he survives a bullet in his brain.” 

Your attention shot to Steve. He’s eyes were pleading with you to play it safe, to protect yourself to hell with him. 

You glanced back at Rumlow as he slowly approached you. Your hands gripped your borrowed weapon tighter. He raised his hands in surrender. “Here’s how this is going to work. You’re going to come with me. We’re going to take a little trip to visit some friends of mine. You might have heard of them. They go by the name ‘HYDRA’. Once we’re safely on board my jet, these good agents here will let your soulmate and the Director go. Obey, they go safely on their merry way. Fight back, and we start picking people off. Your choice.” 

“Don’t.” Steve managed to grit out the single word before the agent holding him in a headlock tightened his hold. 

“Stop!” You shouted, taking an involuntary step forward before remembering the weapons trained on Steve. “Okay! I’ll do it! I’ll go with you!” 

Steve let out a choked sound and pleaded with you not to do it, but you couldn’t stop yourself. You’d lived in a world where Steve had been dead once. You weren’t going to do it again. Not when you had the power to stop it. 

Rumlow smiled wickedly. “Excellent. Now, if you could just hand over the weapon . . . in a show of good faith, of course.” 

You could feel the stress of the situation building inside of you, but you fought against it. If you froze time now, you’d have only a few seconds to save Steve and Fury. It wouldn’t be enough. You needed a better opening. 

An agent stepped forward, his weapon still trained on you. He held out his other hand and you slowly lowered the weapon into it. As soon as he had a grasp on it, he backed away quickly. Rumlow was by your side in the next second. He reached out an wrapped a hand around your bicep, pulling you towards an exit. 

“I’m so glad you could see things from our perspective. There’s just one last loose end to tie up.” 

You glanced at Steve as you approached him. You knew what was coming next. “I’m sorry.” You mouthed. Steve’s eyes widened slightly as he realized what you were about to do and he began fighting against his human ropes with renewed vigor. 

“NO!” He let out a strangled scream. 

Rumlow chuckled lowly. “Kill them.” He ordered. 

Right as the sound of the bullet exiting the chamber sounded, you let the stress building up inside out flare out, instantly freezing everyone in the room. Warmth coated your lips as you wretched your arm out of Rumlow’s grasp. You reached up a hand and it came away coated in blood. Not a good sign. 

A few seconds. You had a few seconds. 

You glanced at Steve and at Fury. Fury had managed to buck one of his guards off. He was still in the path of a bullet but it looked like it wouldn’t hit anything vital. Steve on the other hand . . . It looked like they had anticipated him. At least five bullets were headed straight at him. 

A few seconds. A few seconds. 

Various plans flew through your mind in rapid fire succession, but you were having a hard time making sense of them. Your head felt foggy and your vision was starting to blur. So, you did what came instinctively. You stumbled towards Steve’s shield, lying forgotten on the floor and moved towards him. It took everything in you to pry several of the agents off of Steve’s right arm and twist his appendage up. You jammed the shield on his arm and glanced once more at the bullets in his path. 

A few seconds . . . a few . . . seconds. 

You glanced back at the bullets still frozen in midair and at the shield. You’d done it. He’d be fine. He’d get out of it. You reached up and placed a bloody hand against his check. “I’m so sorry.” You whispered, slipping to your knees. “I love you.” 

Your vision grew dim, black spots appearing in the corners. You were so tired. 

You laid down on the ground, curled up nearly at Steve’s feet. A . . . few . . . seconds . . . 

Everything went black. 

The sound of gunshots rebounding off vibranium registered before the weight of his shield on his arm did. But Steve was a soldier. He was used to making rapid fire connections in the middle of battle. He quickly twisted, slamming his shield into the agents still holding his left side, dropping each of them in quick succession. Across the room, he heard grunts as Fury took out the men guarding him and he quickly shot four of them in quick succession despite his bleeding shoulder. 

The next thing Steve registered was the sticky warmth coating his cheek. He reached out a shaking hand, already knowing what it was, and blanched when he saw the blood coating his fingers. He’d known what you were going to do. He’d begged you to stop. 

His eyes fell, almost instinctively, to your too-still form lying on the floor of the bridge. His mind was a million miles away as he bent down to your side and cupped your cheek. He didn’t see Hill and Natasha rush into the room, agents loyal to Fury by their side as they took out the rest of the threat. He didn’t see as Natasha looked over his shoulder and saw you lying there, still as the grave, only to turn around and cold-cock Rumlow right in the face. 

He didn’t see Fury pull Natasha off of Rumlow as she continued to beat the man within an inch of his life for killing you and depriving Steve of his soulmate. 

No. He didn’t see any of it. 

All he saw was you. Dead on the floor. 

And as he slowly bent down, and swept you up in his arms, moving towards the quinjet and back home, a piece of him died too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Holds hands up and cackles maniacally* aaaaaaaaaaaaangst!
> 
> And one chapter to go. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Epilogue

You groaned and forced your eyes to open. They fluttered against the blinding light glaring into you and you hissed in pain. 

“Doll?” Steve’s teary voice called out to you. 

“Too bright.” You grimaced. 

The sound of footsteps could be heard and then, a moment later, the lights dimmed. You sighed in relief. 

You opened your eyes more fully and frowned as your vision blurred before slowly coming into focus. You twisted your head until you met Steve’s worried gaze. 

“Stevie.” You breathed, smiling up at him. “Why so glum, sugar plum?” You chuckled lightly. You felt funny. Like you were on top of a cloud. 

Steve’s face cracked into a relieved smile and he let out a watery chuckle. 

“You used to say that to Buck when he was in one of his brooding moods.” 

“Well he was glum and he liked plums. It fit.” You raised a hand up to your face and studied it, intently. “Why do I feel so funny?” You giggled. 

Steve reached over and pulled your hand away from your face, needing to see your eyes. Your open eyes that were brimming with LIFE. He held your hand tightly in his. 

“They were worried about the pain, so they’ve been giving you drugs.” He explained, watching with amusement as you struggled not to go cross-eyed. 

You nodded sagely. “Mmm. Can I have them all the time?” 

He chuckled. “I don’t think I could handle it if you needed them all the time doll. You took at least twenty years off my life with this last stunt you pulled.” He ran a hand through his hair agitatedly. You were confused by his words, but that’s not what caught your attention the most. 

You gasped, your free hand flying up to cover your mouth. “You’re OLD!” You screeched, pointing at his hair. Clear as day, on either side of his face, patches of white could be seen. “We MATCH!” You yelled next, pulling at the white strands of your own hair. 

Steve reached out and pulled your other hand into his grasp as well. “Yeah, we do, doll. Tony and Banner think that you pulled on the soul bond and that’s what kept you alive this time around. Had a nasty effect on my hair though and they’re pretty sure it won’t work again, so maybe stop with the time tricks for good this time?” 

“I don’t do tricks.” You pouted. “I save lives.” 

“Just not your own.” Steve frowned. 

You smiled up at him, proud of yourself as memories slowly trickled back in. “I saved yours, though.” 

He let out a breath that could’ve almost been a chuckle and reached down to place a gentle kiss against your forehead. “You did, doll. Thank you.” 

You closed your eyes at the contact and smiled contently. “You’re welcome.” 

Steve pulled away and settled back into his chair, one hand still firmly wrapped around one of yours. 

Slowly, very slowly, your mind started to clear enough for a burning question to come to mind. “Did the bad guy get away?” You asked. 

Steve smiled evilly. You frowned at how misplaced the smile looked. “Not. He didn’t. Nat kicked his ass.” 

“Oooooh. Captain America swearing. Someone’s in trouuuuble.” You sing-songed and giggled. 

Steve smiled fondly at you. 

Behind him, a knock sounded on the door. 

“Come in.” He called, not turning around. 

“Pippin’! Green Bean!” You smiled largely as your two favorite scientists walked into the room. 

“Green Bean?” Bruce asked. 

“I assume I’m Pippin’?” Tony asked simultaneously. 

You giggled again before pointing at Bruce. “Tony calls you Green Bean when you’re not around.” Tony shot you a look as Bruce folded his arms and sent him a look. “And I heard you call yourself a ‘Piping hot mess’ once. It’s your name now. I changed your name.” 

“I see someone’s in a fun mood. Hey, Darling? Wanna play a game?” Tony asked, coming up on the otherside of your bed and leaning close. 

“Tony . . .” Steve said warningly. 

“Relax, Cap. Nothing dangerous. Just something I gotta know. What do you say? Huh, Tinkerbell?” 

You giggled and nodded. 

“Okay, all you have to do is answer one simple question, okay?” 

You nodded seriously. 

“Good girl. Okay. Here we go. Ready? The question is; ‘Who’s your favorite? Captain America or Steve Rogers?’” 

Steve groaned and hid his face behind his hands, although he peeked through his fingers. He couldn’t help himself, he was desperate to know your answer. 

You pondered the question for a minute before a bright smile lit up your face. “My favorite is Steve Rogers as Captain America.” You said finally, nodding to yourself. 

Tony looked aghast. “That’s not . . . that doesn’t . . . Darling, that doesn’t count.” 

“It does, though.” You argued. “Steve Rogers is mischievous and reckless and lovable. Captain America plays by the books. But put them together and you get Captain Steve. He’s my favorite.” 

Tony glanced at Steve, but Steve wasn’t paying the billionaire any more attention. His focus was too riveted on you. He thought he couldn’t love you anymore than he did. When he’d seen you bleeding and all-but dead on the floor of the helicarrier, his world had shattered. But the love he felt for you now . . . 

You saw him, hell, you’d always seen him for him. He was more than just Steve Rogers just as he was more than Captain America. You’d always seen . . . him. 

He leaned down and caught your lips in a bruising kiss, completely ignoring the innocent bystanders in the room. It wasn’t until Bruce politely cleared his throat that Steve pulled away, his gazed still tenderly riveted on you. 

“Well . . . can’t say I was expecting that from Mr. Blushes over there.” Tony noted as the tell-tale sign of a blush coated Steve’s cheeks. Bruce cleared his throat again and Tony continued. “We just stopped by to check on the patient here. Gave us quite the scare there, young lady.” 

You shrugged your shoulders as though you hadn’t a care in the world. 

Tony laughed. “Figures you’d be about as repentant as your boytoy there when he royally screws up.” 

Bruce stepped forward and leaned down, a small flashlight in his hands. He shown the light in your eyes, tracking your pupils even as you flinched away from the harsh light. “You cut it awfully close this time. You should have died.” 

The serious tones of Dr. Banner managed to pierce through your drug hazed mind and you picked at the blanket guiltily. “I’m sorry.” You whispered. 

Steve was quick to reassure you. “It’s okay, doll. You did what you had to do. You saved us all. Just . . . don’t make a habit of it. Okay?” 

“Or do.” Tony cut in. 

“Tony.” This time Steve’s tone was threatening. 

Tony shrugged it off. “I’m just saying Capsicle. What good is putting some of my tech in her brain if we can’t play with it a little? Just a little?” 

Your brow furrowed. “You touched my brain?” You turned to Steve. “You let him touch my brain?” 

Dr. Banner chuckled at the awkward looks the two men shared. 

“You had an aneurysm. We had to operate. You were very lucky. You almost didn’t make it in time.” 

“Yeah. And while you were under, I finished my little pet project for you. It was a bit of a rush job since you weren’t supposed to go Supernova on me for at least another couple weeks. I was counting on Spangles here to keep a tighter lid on you until it was done . . . but that’s not the point. The point is, JARVIS and I took a number of scans of your brain while you were frozen and then while you were asleep and then again when we did our little experiment a few weeks ago . . . The point is, I think I developed a way to take the pressure off your brain when you play with the time space continuum. You should be safe to alter time and save lives to your hearts content now.” 

A smile lit up your face. “I’m an Avenger now?” You asked brightly. 

Steve choked a little. 

“No, no.” Tony quickly backtracked at the murderous look on Steve’s face. “Nope. We still have a LOT of tests and training and whatnot to do before you’re an Avenger if you even still want to be one when the drugs wear off. People say the craziest things when they’re under the influence. It’s more . . . security for the two of you. You were in a traumatic situation. As a member of team ‘Nightmares’ I’m positive there’s going to be more than one night you freeze Capsicle over there in his sleep after waking up in a cold sweat yourself. This will help take the stress off those moments. You’re not under such a time constraint anymore. Or so I think. Like I said, it was a little bit of a rush job.” 

You were still smiling as Tony finished his little speech. You couldn’t help yourself. You threw yourself at him, taking everyone by surprise as you wrapped your arms around him in a tight hug. 

“Thank you, Tony.” You whispered. 

He awkwardly patted your back. “Uh . . . don’t mention it, Darling.” 

You released him, and sunk back into the bed, suddenly feeling very sleepy. 

“Alright. That’s enough excitement for one day.” Bruce said in an authoritative way. “Get some rest, you’ve earned it.” 

He grabbed Tony and dragged him out of the room, leaving you and Steve alone. 

You reached out and grabbed Steve’s hand in yours. “I’m sorry I scared you Stevie.” You whispered, eyes fluttering closed. 

He squeezed your hand. “I love you.” He whispered back, kissing your head as you drifted asleep. 

You gripped his hand tightly. “Stay with me?” 

“Till the end of the line.” 

You drifted off, with a smile on your face. You had two constants in your life. Steve and your powers. Both had been taken from you and brought back and both you were going to cling to even more tightly having lost them once. 

You didn’t know what the future held. You might become an Avenger, you might become a doctor. One thing was certain though. Although from the moment you woke up in the modern age, you’d always be a woman out of time; you’d never be alone. You and Steve would never be separated again. One way or another your soulmate bond had tied you together across seventy years of space and time. It could do it for another couple decades at least. In sickness, in health, for richer, for poorer. Till death did you part. Till the end of the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We made it! 
> 
> I know, I know. We cheated a little death. Twisted a few plots. But what can I say, I'm a cruel like that. Plus, silver-fox Steve? Sign me up.
> 
> As always, it was a real labor of love for me to write this. But this one hit especially hard in the feels. I'm going to miss it so much!
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did and as always, thanks for reading. :)


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